1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of treating a patient for human immunodeficiency virus and, more specifically, a method of intravenously administering an organic arsenical for treatment of human immunodeficiency virus type 1. 2. Description of the Prior Art
It has been known to employ organic arsenicals for therapeutic purposes. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 986,148.
It has also been known to employ oxyphenarsine (3 amino-4 hydroxyphenyl-arsineoxide hydrochloride) in the treatment of syphilis.
Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 or HIV causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome ("AIDS") and is a fatal disease which has approached epidemic proportions both within the U.S. and elsewhere. The problem has reached sufficiently serious proportions that by Executive order, the President of the U.S. established Presidential Commission on the Human Immunodeficiency Virus Epidemic.
HIV-infected individuals may remain asymptomatic for several years. By current estimates about 15-34% of infected individuals will probably develop AIDS within 3-5 years. During the asymptomatic stage, although most people have no symptoms, some patients a few weeks after exposure develop a disorder resembling mononucleosis. Later, its symptoms include fatigue, fever and swollen glands, diarrhea and minor infections. Most of these symptoms disappear initially but may recur. When AIDS develops, it is usually characterized by a major opportunistic infection, such as Pneumocystis pneumonia, or an opportunistic tumor, such as Kaposi's sarcoma or a lymphoma. At this stage, the disease is uniformly fatal.
While many drugs have been tried for the treatment of HIV and AIDS, no curative drug has been found.
One known drug, azidothymidine, was approved by the FDA in 1987. It relieves symptoms and prolongs life in the short run.